


Untangled

by LunaStories



Series: Hannibal Rare Pairs Monthly Fics [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, King Arthur (2004)
Genre: Adorable, April fic, Comfort, First Kiss, Flowers, Fluff, Hair Braiding, Hair Brushing, Hair Washing, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 14:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18367871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaStories/pseuds/LunaStories
Summary: Tristan's hair has grown increasingly unruly throughout their journey together. Galahad notices, and he decides to do something about it.





	Untangled

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!
> 
> I am starting a project where I will write one fic for each Hannibal extended universe rare pair I ship every month. Currently the rare pairs I ship can be found in the series description so feel free to check it out. If you would like to convince me to your rare pair ship go ahead and drop by my tumblr (which I will link at the end) or find me on the [Hannigram Extended Universe server](https://discord.gg/EDhEdua). 
> 
> As such, all fics for this project will be "short" one shots (I can never keep things short this fic was supposed to be 1k so we all saw how I failed at that :/) that I can write in one sitting. This fic was written in an hour and I looked over it briefly once so if there are any mistakes please do let me know. 
> 
> This is literally just fluff so without further ado please enjoy~

“Tristan!”

Galahad looked up automatically, his heart skipping a beat as Tristan’s name was called. The path they were riding on was an easy enough trail, and Galahad allowed his attention to drift, listening in onto the conversation happening ahead of him.

Gawain reached a hand out and tugged at Tristan’s long hair, laughing and allowing his horse to sway out of the way as Tristan bared his teeth in a playful snarl. “You’re looking more and more like one of the Woads we battle.”

“If you don’t like it why don’t you cut if off?” Tristan challenged, an eyebrow raised as he smirked.

Dagonet rode up in between them, likely saving Gawain from attempting something stupid. “Come now, you know better.” Dagonet spoke to Gawain with a pointed look.

“Maybe I don’t.” Gawain challenged, a teasing smirk on his face as he leaned in, pressing into Dagonet’s space and meeting Tristan’s sharp eyes. “Maybe Tristan just needs a helping hand to get rid of that tavern mop on his head.”

Before Dagonet could say anything, a small dagger flew past him and sliced a few strands of Gawain’s hair off. Gawain yelped, and it was only his experience as a knight that allowed him to remain on his stead and save himself from an even more humiliating scene.

“That’s it!” Gawain laughed even as there was a trace of annoyance in his voice. “I’ll cut all your hair off.”

“Gawain.”

Arthur slowed his horse down, glancing behind him to shoot a reproachful look at Gawain. “Please refrain from threatening your brother in arms.”

“It’s all in good fun.” Gawain whined as he glared at Tristan one last time before allowing them to go ahead of him, leaving him riding in a sullen silence next to Galahad.

“Tristan is a surly brute of a man,” Galahad commented, pursing his lips. “It wouldn’t do to anger him, though often times his very presence incites rage.”

Gawain rolled his eyes, used to the weird love-hate relationship Galahad and Tristan had. He didn’t understand it and he probably never will, but as long as they had each other’s back in battle he couldn’t care less. “It’s not that. I think it would probably do him some good to get that hair cleaned up. At this rate he won’t be much of a scout if his hair is constantly in his face.”

Galahad raised a brow even as he glanced to the side, taking in Gawain and the genuine concern he seemed to have for Tristan. It was true Tristan’s hair suffered the worst out of all of them whenever they had to spend weeks on the road. With his own curls, he was able to use the volume to keep out a lot of the grime accumulated from their travels. But Tristan’s straight hair had the tendency to attract all sorts of dirt.

Galahad let out a considering hum. Maybe there was some truth behind Gawain’s words.

He stared at the back of Tristan’s hair, taking in his braids that were indistinguishable from the tangles in his hair. He winced as he saw the way the thin strands knotted into each other. He knew from experience that the knots hurt, and that over time it would produce a steady headache. Tristan couldn’t be comfortable like that.

He didn’t want to care, not when the man was so infuriating half the time, but he did consider the benefits of cleaning Tristan’s hair. He would slowly untangle every hair, run his fingers through the soft strands, washing the dirt away until they shined gold. They would frame his face, those sharp cheekbones held in repose as he traced a thumb over the dark ink.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Galahad scowled something fierce. Tristan affected him in ways he didn’t want to admit, and it always annoyed him when he couldn’t control his mind from wondering. This wouldn’t have been an issue if Tristan wasn’t so damn annoying. Something about the man always riled up his temper, but he knew part of it was that Tristan liked seeing him angry. The man was a sadist at heart, and Galahad was constantly reminded of that on the battlefield.

Tristan a ghost of war, and killing was a pleasure to him, not a necessity.

Men like that disgusted him, but when he stared at Tristan’s smirk, or fought side by side with him, he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything but fondness. He liked Tristan, even when he shouldn’t, and he didn’t want the scout to feel uncomfortable.

Galahad sighed, his resolve strengthening the longer he stared at Tristan’s nest of hair. He would approach Tristan the next time they stopped. If there was a river nearby he would demand the man wash his hair and comb it out, if not, Galahad was not above a little rough housing to get what he wanted.

xxxxxx

Tristan stared out across the lake, placid as he stood waist deep in the river. He was naked, and he had no shame in being bare. There was no one around for miles besides him and his shield brothers, he had made sure of that. Iseult circled above him, cawing loudly as if to echo his sentiment, keeping watch as he bathed.

“Something in the woods?”

Tristan’s eyes trailed over to his right side, suppressing a warm smile as Galahad slid into the water beside him. Without a pause, Galahad ducked into the water before rising with a gasp. He ran the cold water over his chest, scrubbing at the dirt accumulated there. Tristan knew he had stared for a moment too long, and he averted his eyes when Galahad glanced at him questioningly.

“No, just enjoying the peace. Did you come here for a dip, pup? Feeling a little woozy from the heat?” Tristan smirked when Galahad snarled at him. He enjoyed mocking Galahad and reminding him of the fact that he was considered the baby of the group. It was a running joke among the knights. Of course they all treated each other as equals, but they did enjoy taking jabs at each other and Tristan certainly couldn’t resist teasing Galahad. Especially when the way the young knight flushed in anger was so deliciously tantalizing.

Galahad scoffed, eyes trailing distractedly over Tristan’s head before focusing on his face. “Maybe I’m just here to make sure you don’t fall over and drown, old man.”

Tristan clicked his tongue, a warm spark of pride heating him up at Galahad’s words. He enjoyed the way he could keep up with Tristan, banter for banter. There was never a dull moment with Galahad. “Hm, well you’re free to stay here and bathe then, I’ll be sure to keep any wayward Woads out of your way lest they ruin your maidenly virtue.”

“Wait!”

Tristan stopped, halfway up the bank as he turned around and faced Galahad with a raised brow.

Galahad was looking down at the water, squinting in a rather constipated expression before his eyes darted up to Tristan’s. “Aren’t you going to wash your hair?”

Tristan grimaced at the reminder, pressing his fingers to the mess on his head with a grunt. “I did, pup.”

“No you didn’t,” Galahad frowned, wading closer to the scout. “It’s wet, sure, but you certainly didn’t clean it well enough.”

Tristan shrugged, slightly uncomfortable with this topic as he glanced longingly at his clothes laid out to dry on the grassy side of the river. He would have loved to clean his hair, but at this point he was too embarrassed to admit that the dirt and grime had gotten out of hand. The tangles were too much for him to fix without cutting it clean off, and he wasn’t going to give any of the knights the satisfaction of mocking him for his lack of foresight. “It is clean enough for me.”

There was a long silence, and Tristan was about to turn around and go, assuming that was the end of the conversation when he felt a soft pressure on his arm. Tristan blinked down at Galahad, staring at the press of his calloused fingers against his arm as he tried to remain calm. He couldn’t remember the last time Galahad had touched him gently. They’d fought together, and practice usually involved a great deal of roughhousing, but they never shared touches meant for comfort or to grab attention. Never like this.

Tristan found that he quite liked it, probably more than he should.

“Is there something you need?” Tristan asked, his voice tight with forced calm. He could feel his skin heating up, as if Galahad’s very presence was enough to stoke the fire burning within him. He stared into those blue eyes, dark and wary, and he cursed his own inability to walk away from a situation. He should leave before he did something he that would scare the other man away, like press a biting kiss to Galahad’s plush lips, but he’d always been curious and the man clearly had something to say to him.

“I…could do it if you wanted me to.”

Tristan blinked down at him, taking a step back to try to clear his mind from Galahad’s intoxicating presence. “You…” Tristan scratched his nails through his beard, tracing it to his ear and touching the tangled strands of hair behind it. “You want to wash my hair for me?”

Galahad stood up straighter, his jaw clenched and eyes flinty with fire. Tristan recognized that look. It was the one Galahad wore before they rode into battle, an expression full of passion and a tinge of fear. “It’s just an offer. It limits your vision and that would be bad for all of us. You’re our scout, it only makes sense that I make sure you’re in the best shape you can be in order to better protect all of us.”

It was certainly logical, and Tristan could see that Galahad had thought this through. Or well, that he’d imagined this scenario enough times that he was able to make excuses to disguise what he really wanted. Tristan didn’t know what Galahad truly wanted, but he wasn’t going to refuse a helping hand, especially if it meant Galahad touching him for an extended period of time.

Tristan shuddered, already anticipating the pleasure that could come from Galahad’s touch, but Galahad seemed to interpret it as a shiver of revulsion. He pulled away quickly, stepping back and clenching his jaw as he glared at the water. “That was stupid, you’re right. I’ll get out of your way then.”

“No,” Tristan reached out, catching his arm before he could leave. “If you’re willing then I wouldn’t mind.”

Galahad stared at Tristan for a long moment, slack jawed, as if he couldn’t believe Tristan had agreed to the suggestion.

“Should I sit down or will you catch our dinner with that open mouth?”

Galahad snapped his mouth shut with a click, glaring at Tristan when he almost bit his tongue in his haste. “Sit on the bank.” Galahad gestured to the side of the river and Tristan followed his directions, utterly amused. He never thought Galahad would suggest something like this, so he wasn’t about to disrupt this rare moment of tranquility with the man.

Galahad climbed out, and Tristan tilted his head, as he listened to the sound of rustling clothes behind him. Tristan noted with some disappointment that Galahad returned to him dressed in his light tunic, and his usual skirt. He was brandishing a cup, and a bone comb that Tristan had seen him use on himself. He had always found those items of vanity useless, but after long years of travel on dusty roads, he understood why Galahad carried it with him. The pressure from all the knots and tangles in his hair gave him a low pressure headache most days, but he was very good at ignoring his own pain.

Obviously even if he could ignore it, Galahad certainly couldn’t take his unruly hair anymore and was determined to fix it for him. And who was he to get in the way of that?

“I hope you know that if you speak a word of this to anyone, I will cut off all your hair while you sleep.”

Tristan chuckled, voice hitching when he felt Galahad kneel behind him and lean in close. His body exuded warmth, and it felt comforting on Tristan’s bare back. “I wouldn’t dream of it, pup. This can be our secret.”

Truthfully, even the thought of letting the other knights know of this moment left Tristan feeling a little irritated. He wasn’t usually possessive by nature, but his time with Galahad was rare and far in between, as all the knights lived so closely with each other. Galahad was someone he derived great joy from teasing, and even the quiet moments with him were filled with a peace that Tristan rarely felt.

He closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath to try and control his shiver of pleasure as Galahad leaned over and filled the cup with water. He then poured it slowly over the left side of Tristan’s head, dragging his fingers through the hair. He repeated this several times until his fingers grew numb with cold, and Tristan’s hair was noticeably lighter on his left side, his true hair color breaking through the layers of grime.

Galahad worked quickly and efficiently, some of his tugs harsher than others as he tried to salvage as much of Tristan’s hair as he could. Whenever he tugged particularly hard, Tristan would let out a grunt, and Galahad would gentle his fingers. Slowly, the fingers running through the outer layers of his hair started massaging inward, and it took all of Tristan’s self control not to moan outright at the scratching that Galahad rhythmically pressed into his skull.

Already, he felt less tense, his shoulders slumped over as Galahad maneuvered his head as he saw fit. It felt amazing, and he couldn’t stop the tingles down his spine as Galahad finished washing his hair. Tristan straightened up, drowsy and a little slow from the pleasurable petting session he’d just sat through, when Galahad pressed his head back down so that his chin met his chest.

“No, stay there.” Galahad’s voice was low, a rasp to it that made Tristan want to bite his throat and tug those noises straight out of his mouth. He obeyed without question, too comfortable to move.

Galahad’s hand moved to one of his braids, and he closed his eyes as the man carefully unwound it and washed the hair clean with more cups of water. Once that was done, he set about rebraiding the piece he had undone. Tristan knew that if he was to look at Galahad, he would have that intense look of concentration on his face, his mouth pressed into a thin line, brows furrowed.

That look always made Tristan want to break him, to cause his concentration to fail so that he could see him smile or bare his teeth in anger. A concentrated Galahad was endearing, but a passionate Galahad was a roaring flame that no one could survive, except for Tristan.

It seemed Tristan was the exception to a lot of things, when it came to Galahad.

Tristan blinked languidly when he realized Galahad had stopped, his strong fingers resting on his shoulders instead and thumbs stroking softly against his skin.

“Are you done?” Tristan whispered, mourning the loss already and words slurred a tad bit from the pleasurable haze he’d fallen into. A Woad could attack them right then and there, and he’d probably sit there, too relaxed to defend himself.

“Hm, I think I am.”

There was a mischievous note to Galahad’s voice that made Tristan focus, his mind crawling back slowly as he frowned and glanced to the side. There, swinging back and forth was his new braid, decorated with small white flowers and the occasional leaf.

Tristan twisted his body so he could meet Galahad’s eyes, the knight obviously expecting Tristan to react negatively to the braid. Instead, Tristan could feel himself flushing, too pleased by the gift to really reprimand Galahad. “Thank you.”

Galahad’s expectant look slowly faded into one too conflicted for Tristan to decipher. A beat of silence passed, then another, and when Galahad’s gaze darted down the length of Tristan’s bare body, then back to his eyes, it was heated. They leaned towards each other, natural as breathing. Tristan braced himself on one hand, as the other reached up to tangle in Galahad’s curls, tugging him close and slotting their mouths together.

They breathed slowly through their noses, mouths meeting then separating with small gasps and moans. It felt like an eternity before they broke apart, breathing harsh as they stared into each other’s eyes, Galahad wearing a wide grin and Tristan an indulgent smile.

“Well, it seems you have some skills after all.”

“In this?” Galahad leaned in and pressed his lips to Tristan’s, his tongue darting out to lick at his mouth before moving back. “Or this?” He tugged at Tristan’s braid, chuckling when Tristan stared down at the small flowers with wonder.

“Both, I think. Though I believe you’ll need to practice plenty in order to master them.”

Galahad raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face. “And I’m guessing you’ll be oh so generous and offer yourself up as a practice dummy.”

“Of course, pup.” Tristan muttered, leaning in and stealing another kiss. “Let’s make sure we practice.”

Galahad’s laugh broke into a moan, his hands tangling into the clean strands he’d worked so hard on, and fingers brushing lightly over the braided flowers.

“I look forward to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked it! If so, please do leave me a comment I'm new to the fandom but I'm very excited to be here!! :)
> 
> Yes, this is my first time writing Tristahad and I must admit, I didn't see the movie so all I know about them is what my lovely friend Rainy told me about them (which was one paragraph of info lol) and what I've seen from fics. I hope their characters aren't too OOC. A special thank you to niceven for finding the name of Tristan’s Hawk for me. :)
> 
> Edit: Trousers has been changed to Galahad's skirt. Thank you to retejada for pointing it out to me! (I can't believe I forgot about those sexy thighs in that skirt haha)
> 
> Thank you for reading and please do leave a comment if you have the time to spare :) They're the life blood of writers! (And also I'm unsure on how I did with this pairing as....I know next to nothing about them lmaoooo) 
> 
> As always, you can find my tumblr [here](http://lunastories.tumblr.com/). Feel free to drop by and say hi!


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